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ATHENS – Georgia’s game at Missouri has been postponed due to positive tests and COVID-19 screening in the Missouri program.
The tracing element of the contract – ruling out players who haven’t necessarily tested positive themselves but have been exposed to a subject that has – is which led the Tigers to cancel, as it essentially wiped out an undisclosed group of positions.
The SEC released a statement earlier on Monday:
Georgia’s football game in Missouri on Nov. 14 has been postponed due to the combination of positive testing, contact tracing and the subsequent quarantine of individuals in the Missouri football program, according to Southeastern Conference COVID-19 management requirements.
As Missouri have a game tentatively scheduled for Dec. 12, the advisability of postponing Georgia’s game to Missouri will need to be assessed. Posting games on the SEC’s remaining football schedule may include December 19 as a play date. “
The Bulldogs (4-2) and Tigers (2-3), ranked No. 12, were scheduled to play at noon on Saturday at Columbia in a game televised by the SEC Network.
The SEC has yet to announce a catch-up date for the game. Missouri are already scheduled to face Vanderbilt on December 12, the weekend the league has booked for catch-up games.
The Georgia-Missouri game joins several other SEC games that were called off this week:
• Texas A&M in Tennessee
• Auburn in the State of Mississippi
• Alabama at LSU
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last week that the league is considering using Dec. 19 to create games that don’t involve teams in the SEC championship game.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron, who is in a similar situation with LSU already having a game rescheduled for December 12, said he “had heard a lot of different things” about what could ultimately happen for teams with multiple catch-up games.
It was reported Tuesday that Missouri was dealing with COVID-19 issues internally and the game was in danger of being canceled.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart made it clear on Tuesday that he hopes the Bulldogs can make it into the game.
Georgia just suffered a 44-28 loss to Florida that left a bitter taste in the mouths of UGA fans as the quarterback’s play was excruciating.
The USC transfer was the favorite to start this week for Georgia against the Tigers, creating a wave of excitement in the fan base and bringing energy to the practice, according to Smart.
“I will say this, we need a game, we want to play,” Smart said after practice on Tuesday. “If we have the opportunity to do it, we will. Otherwise, we have to work to improve ourselves. We also manage to confront each other. We have a pretty good defense and a good enough offense to face us and compete as well. So we would love to do that.
The SEC office released a game cancellation policy in September:
“For playing a football game, the SEC has established minimum thresholds of at least 53 fellows available to participate and the following minimum number of positional fellows available to start a game: seven (7) offensive linemen (which includes one center), one (1) quarterback and four (4) defensive linemen, ”the SEC statement read. “The affected institution has the option of playing the game with less than the 53 fellows or less than the minimum number of position players listed above if it chooses to do so. Otherwise, with the commissioner’s approval, the game would be postponed or declared uncontested.
“Additionally, if an institution determines that there are compelling reasons why it cannot start a competition, regardless of the scholarship and position minimums above, the institution may request that the match be rescheduled or , if the match cannot be rescheduled, that the match be considered a non-competition by presenting data (including the total number of players not available to participate) describing the reasons why the game should not be played as planned. The final decision to reschedule or declare the game a non-competition rests solely with the commissioner. “
More details as they develop
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